An internal combustion engine has a magneto generator provided for driving various electrical equipment loads provided in the engine. The magneto generator for the internal combustion engine generally used comprises a flywheel magnet rotor provided on a crank shaft of the engine and a stator having armature coils wound on an armature core. The stator includes an igniting generator coil for driving an ignition system for the internal combustion engine, generator coils for driving a fuel injection device, generator coils for driving electrical equipment loads necessary for operating the engine and generator coils for supplying electric power to lamp loads, a battery and so on.
A ring gear is securely provided on an outer periphery of a peripheral wall of the flywheel magnet rotor and an engine starter motor is provided on an engine case. On an output shaft of the starter motor is provided a pinion gear, which is forwardly moved when the starter motor is driven so as to be meshed with the ring gear whereby the flywheel magnet rotor rotates together with the crank shaft.
As the magnet rotor rotates, the igniting generator coil on the stator has a voltage induced there across and therefore the ignition system for the internal combustion engine ignites and starts the engine.
As noted from the foregoing, the conventional internal combustion engine disadvantageously has a complicated construction because of the ring gear provided on the flywheel for starting the engine as well as the starter motor provided therein.
As disclosed in JP58-63085, a magnet generator provided on a crank shaft of an internal combustion engine has been proposed which is used for a starter generator, but is also operated as a brushless DC motor when the engine starts whereby a peculiar starter motor is omitted.
However, since the starter motor and the magnet generator for charging a battery have different winding specifications necessary for meeting their characteristics, such an idea as one rotary electric machine having a magnet rotor and multi-phase armature coils is operated as the brushless DC motor and also as the battery charging magnet generator has not been practically used.